Some kids grow up learning how to use tools from their father, or grandfather, or uncle, or the old guy next door. I was not so fortunate.
And I never took a shop class in high school. In retrospect, I don’t know why not. I guess “the system" figured I should be educated for a white collar career. Well, they were wrong.
I started acquiring tools in my high school years and put them to use the best I knew how (there were no YouTube tutorials in the 1970s). It was during those formative years that I bought a tap and die set.
It was a Buffalo brand tap and die set exactly like the one pictured above. I bought at a Nichols department store. It was cheap—in every sense the word.
Nevertheless, I learned how to use taps and dies with that poor quality set. It was adequate for several repair projects over the years.
I still have most of that Buffalo set but I now keep the pieces in a cardboard box with an assortment of other taps, dies and handles…
It’s not efficient to have your tap and die “set” jumbled in a box like that. It has bothered me for years. Finally, last month, I decided to buy myself a truly good quality general purpose tap and die set. By good quality I mean a set made in the USA by a company with a long reputation for making excellent taps and dies.
Opinions among those in the know about this sort of thing vary, but my research led me to the 41-piece Hanson #24606 “SUPER SET” made by the IRWIN Company.
Older 24606 sets were housed in the red plastic case. Newer Irwin-Hanson 24606 Super Sets have exactly the same components in a blue box. I opted to get an older set for reasons explained at the end of this article.
A brand new #24606 tap and die set can be purchased for around $250, but the good news is that you can find nice pre-owned sets on Ebay for a whole lot less.
I bought the Super Set pictured below for a total of $138.61. It doesn’t appear to have ever been used. All taps, dies and handles say Made in USA on them.
Even at $138.61, the Hanson Super Set is a lot of money. But I’m persuaded that the quality of the set is significantly better than the cheaper foreign-made tap and die sets on Amazon. The #24606 is a downright good value at that price. If you look hard and wait for the right deal, I’m sure you will find one on Ebay for even less than what I paid.
If cared for, the Super Set will serve your tap and die needs for a lifetime (individual replacement taps and dies are available if/when you break one), and can be passed on to the next generation.
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The Henry L. Hanson Company made taps and dies in Massachusetts and Maine for nearly 100 years. Their tools have a solid reputation. The company was bought by IRWIN in 1985 and production remained at the Gorham, Maine plant.
In 2017 IRWIN was purchased by STANLEY. Shortly thereafter, the Hanson plant in Maine was shut down. Tap and die production was reportedly then moved to STANLEY’s Jackson, Tennessee plant.
According to IRWIN’s information, taps and dies in the new IRWIN blue-box #24606 Super Sets are still made in the USA, but handles are made in China. How true this is (or how long it will continue) is open to speculation.
My understanding is that the red-box Super Sets predate Stanley’s takeover of Irwin-Hanson. As noted above, all handles, taps and dies in my set are marked as USA made.
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